Keeping It Together
by it makes sense in context
Summary: Set (and written) immediately after the finale, there is a lot that Jaune has to do.
They found him wandering the streets of Vale screaming her name, shattered scroll in hand, blood dripping from his fingers where shards of glass still clung. It had taken both Ren and Nora to restrain him, and Qrow explaining everything to calm him. And even then he wasn't actually calm. He was just docile, subdued while he turned her headdress over and over in his hands. Qrow had retrieved it when he grabbed Ruby.

"Jaune."

The voice broke through the cloud of grief and pain that consumed his mind. The cloud that spent ever waking moment threatening to overwhelm him. He looked up into green eyes and red hai – _the wrong green, the wrong red._

"Jaune you need to eat." Nora spoke again. "It's been two days, please Jaune, we can't – we can't lose you too." _You're the only person Ren and I have left._ Those words went unspoken.

The way her voice broke sent a shard of ice through Jaune's heart. _Can't lose you too._ This wasn't just about Pyrrha for Ren and Nora. It was about the only life they had left, the only family they had left. Team JNPR was one down, but Jaune still had two people left. Two people it was his job to protect and lead. It was his duty. He had to try, even just for a little while.

Setting the headdress down Jaune accepted the food. "Where - where is Ren?"

"In the hospital tent, he cracked a few ribs." Nora's attempted cheeriness failed, there was a hollowness in her voice. "Jaune I –"

"Nora you don't owe me anything. I'm fine." Jaune dragged the bread crust through the stew. It tasted like nothing. "I just need to figure out where to from here. What we do, where we go. We need to tell Pyrrha's family, with the CCTS out they can't have been notified." He paused for a second. " Who is still in Vale?"

"Qrow took Ruby and Yang home to Patch, Weiss's family came for her, Blake vanished, Team CFVY are unknown. SSSN are headed back to Haven, though the journey will be long. Most navigational systems are down and Dust supplies in Vale are running out. Ozpin is presumed dead. They found Glynda in a similar state to you, and they still haven't been able to break her out of it. Ironwood is in the Hospital tent trying to help people." Nora rattled off the last known locations of everyone she could remember. "Jaune are you okay?"

He wanted to scream no, that he didn't even have a body to mourn, that he had lost something he hadn't known he had. But he didn't. How could he? He was their leader. He had to be strong. "I'm fine." The lie burned in his mouth and sat heavy on his heart. He knew Nora wouldn't believe him, but he had to try.

"Jaune –"

"I'm fine Nora." He said the words with a harsh finality. "How long until Ren will be cleared fom medical?"

"A few more hours. That's what Ironwood said."

"And do either of you know how to get to Patch?"

Nora shook her head.

"Can you get your hands on a map?"

Nora's eyes searched his face but he kept it impassive. "On it." She stood and left and Jaune put his food to the side - all it did was make him feel sick – and picked up the circlet. Pyrrha was from Mistral and the CCTS was out, her family wouldn't know yet, they wouldn't have heard. They would think their daughter, strong, invincible Pyrrha was safe, that she was alive. He had to let them know.

 _Why did you do it Pyrrha?_ The question was one he asked a million times, in his head, to the void, screamed into the night while the others slept and he couldn't because when he closed his eyes he saw her. Her smile and her laugh and her hair and eyes and the strength that radiated from her. Her belief in him, he could see it all, and all he could do was cry. Her love that he did nothing to deserve and she still gave so freely. _Why did you save me? What is so special about me? You were the strong one, the one who could protect them. You should have come with me and lived, or taken me with you and let us die together! Pyrrha why?!_

It took Nora three days to find a map. Scouring the city searching through the ruins to find one crumpled and torn, but with Patch and Vale both still visible. While searching she saw Glynda, exhausted and trying desperately to put the city back together. Nora persuaded her to eat a little but did little else. She couldn't, she knew she would need to get back to her own team, and that Glynda was grieving. She had the same look on her face as Jaune, as though a light had died inside of her and she couldn't reignite it.

When she took the map back to Jaune, Ren had been cleared from medical and was filling packs with salvaged equipment. Jaune's face was impassive but the circlet was clipped on his belt and his hand wandered to it often, like he was reassuring himself it was still there.

"Where are we going Jaune?" It was Ren who asked, pink eyes filled with concern. They were standing at one of the destroyed city gates

"To Patch, then Mistral." Jaune answered shouldering his pack. "I need to speak to Qrow, and Ruby. And then Pyrrha's family has a right to know how she died, why she died. They can't have heard yet, not with the CCTS out, and that's not getting online anytime soon."

"Yessir." Ren murmured as he and Nora followed Jaune into the forest.

It was a long trek and for Jaune much of it was spend wrestling with his own mind and his hand resting on the headdress. He barely noticed his teammates behind him, leaning slightly on one another, drawing strength from one another. But when he did the grief was stirred up again, the deep pang that told him Pyrrha should be here, that if she hadn't been so _stubborn_ she would have been.

"Jaune."

"Yes Nora?"

"I think now would be a good time to set up camp." Nora pointed to the skyline as the sun began to settle over the trees.

"Okay then." Jaune placed his pack on the ground. "I guess we need to gather some food – "

"There is enough packed." Ren answered. "More than enough if you keep us at this pace." Nora nodded in silent agreement as she started setting up a fire. "Oh and Jaune?"

"Yes Ren?"

"Please eat today."

Jaune ended up just picking at his food and volunteering for first watch. Not that he planned on waking either of them to takeover, it was his job to protect them, not the other way around. And if he slept . . . He didn't want to think about what he might see.

 _"Hey, it's Jaune, isn't it? You were Pyrrha's partner, right?" Jaune remembered when Qrow had told him Pyrrha was gone, a strange choice of words. Not dead, not beyond medical help, just gone. There was no body, and Qrow was loath to use the word dead without a body for proof. He remembered how Qrow had handed him the circlet and told Jaune he would be back with a better explanation, but first he had to make sure his nieces got to Patch okay. "You seem like a tough kid Arc, I know Pyrrha would have done anything to protect you. Try not to fuck it up."_

 _And then had come the explanations, the telling of the truth of their world. That theirs was a world where Fairy Tale was real and the magic they were told was fake very much existed. That Ozpin had been the protector of these secrets, and that he was the one who recruited Pyrrha. When Jaune had asked why Qrow was telling him this if it was meant to be a secret. Qrow responded that of all people Jaune had a right to know._

"Hey Jaune it's my watch." Nora stood beside where he sat holding a blanket and looking at him with sadness and pain in her eyes. She had watched him for the last quarter hour, hoping that he would remember that he wasn't in this alone, that there were others there to help him. Her heart had sunk with each passing minute that he didn't.

"I didn't wake you."

"We knew you wouldn't so we set an alarm on our scrolls. Guess they are still good for some things." Nora attempted to laugh but the sound died in her throat. "Jaune please get some rest. I know you aren't sleeping unless you collapse. And I know you don't want to, and I know why but please Jaune. It'll get easier I promise."

"Wake me up if I look like I'm having a nightmare okay?" Jaune hesitated before taking the blanket. "Thankyou."

"And Jaune?"

"Yes Nora?"

 _It's okay to not be okay, you don't have to fake that you are fine._ That's what Nora wanted to say. _You don't need to be strong for us. Pyrrha would want you to take care of yourself._ "Thanks for trying."

Jaune nodded in acknowledgement, not entirely sure what she meant.

The next day they walked again, passing destroyed and abandoned settlements, the odd skeleton, and a few wandering cows (which Nora tried to milk to no avail). Jaune ate more that day, which made Nora smile a little.

"Patch is an island right?"

"Yes Nora." Ren was fielding Nora's questions for the day.

"How are we going to get there?"

"I can row us." Jaune answered and Nora noticed he was holding the circlet again.

"That's really all that's left huh?" Nora looked at the circlet. "I hope it was painless."

"We don't know yet Nora, only Ruby knows." Jaune answered, but his words felt strained like they caused him pain. "The only person who knows is Ruby."

"Can I look at it?" Nora held out her hand and Jaune passed it over. The metal felt cool, too cold even, like Jaune had never been touching it.

"It's a Mistrali custom." Jaune started speaking. "That when a person dies their body is turned to dust and their jewellery is kept for the family. Pyrrha told me, and I'm guessing that Cinder," Jaune spat out the name like it was poison. "Kept with tradition and disintergrated her, they could find Cinder's bones but not Pyrrha's. That circlet has to be returned to her family, so Pyrrha might find peace."

"It's almost like she knew huh?" Ren asked. He hadn't touched the circlet, he found it painful enough to look at.

"Please don't say it like that Ren." Jaune said. The wounds of grief were plainly etched on all their faces as they stood in silence for a moment.

"It's fourish days to Patch, then at least a week to Mistral if we can get an airship. Though it'll be far more if we can't." Jaune sighed. "I hope we can get food or transport on Patch."

"Ruby lives there, we'll be fine." Nora responded.

"I'm also worried about the weather." Jaune surveyed the skyline. "It's almost winter and it is getting colder. I'd be surprised if it's not snowing by the time we reach Patch."

It took them three days to reach the shoreline, and on the last it began to snow, just little flurries at first, but enough to be a hindrance. They stayed the night camped around a fire on the shore and in the morning borrowed a boat.

"Jaune."

"Yes Ren?"

"Are you sure you are ready to face Ruby and Qrow?"

"I have to sometime Ren." Jaune answered as he strapped his gear to the boat. "Qrow will have more answers for us, Ruby – I think she needs to be part of this."

When they arrived on Patch Qrow was waiting for them. Tall, a stark angular figure standing out against the billowing whiteness that surrounded him. He didn't address them as they disembarked, just turned and motioned for them to follow.

Qrow finally spoke as they neared a log cabin on the edges of the Patch settlement. "Now Yang, she's still not taking anything too well. That's to be expected, she put her life on the line for Blake, and Blake left. If you want to speak to her don't take long, don't make any jokes. She won't even talk to Ruby." Qrow paused. "She went through a lot as a kid, this is all too similar. She needs a break, her father and I are trying to help her but I dunno what we can do. I had hoped she would have bounced back some more by now like her mother, but she's too much like her father."

"How is Ruby?" Jaune had to force the words out of his moth, it wasn't that he blamed her, he was more to blame than anyone, it was that he had heard nothing. Last time he saw Ruby she was a seemingly too small figure cradled in Qrow's arms.

"Physically she's fine, emotionally better than Yang, probably around the same state you are. She's eager for revenge and answers, but she needs closure first."

"That makes two of us."

"Four." Nora piped up.

"We aren't headed straight for revenge though. We have something to do first, we just though Ruby needs to be part of it." Jaune twisted his hands around the circlet. "We need to find Pyrrha's family. We need to give them this."

"She was from Mistral right?" Qrow asked. "I can help you get there."

Nora nodded. "Yeah, she never said where exactly she lived th-"

"She told me." Jaune cut in. "I can find it."

"Well it looks like you're in luck, our only lead is that Cinder was from Haven." Qrow stopped in front of a house. "You two go on ahead, I need to talk to Jaune for a minute."

"Can you trust them?" Qrow asked when he saw Ren and Nora were in the house.

"I trust them with my life."

Qrow looked at Jaune. "You know what I mean."

"Well they don't know yet, about why or how Pyrrha died." Jaune sighed. "I want to tell them but they won't believe me."

"I'd tell them then. About the Maidens at least." Qrow rubbed at the stubble on his chin. "There is something else you need to know, it's about Ruby and what happened on the tower."

"Is she the next maiden?"

Qrow shook his head. "It's too early to tell. Sometimes the powers manifest imediately, sometimes it takes a while. It's about what she did up there. You are aware of the myths about silver eyes right?"

"I'm aware." Jaune set his jaw in a grim line. "Let me guess, that's true too? And it applies to Ruby? That's what happened on top of the tower, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Jaune sighed. "How big would it be if she was the Maiden as well?"

"Unprecedented."

"I still don't understand why you are telling me all this." Jaune said. "I'm hardly the smartest or best person to handle any of this

"Yeah well Ozpin saw something in you kid, told us all that in the event he is incapacitated you were to be informed." Qrow grabbed his flask out of his pocket. "He knew you cheated your way in by the way, kept you around nonetheless. You must have something special about you kid."

"Nothing special here, I'm the second youngest of 8, good at nothing except screwing up."

"I've never known Ozpin to be wrong Jaune."

"Do you mind if I go inside?"

"Be our guest."

"Jaune!" He was barely through the door when he felt Ruby tackle him. "I am so so –"

"It wasn't your fault." Jaune could feel his voice beginning to crack. "I should have stopped her. Pulled her into the locker, used it to go back – anything!" There were tears pricking at his eyes now. "Ruby it wasn't your fault."

"If I was faster –"

"She would have killed you too. Your Uncle told me the gist of what happened." Jaune held Ruby at an arm's length and looked her up and down. "You're fine right?"

"I watched her die Jaune. I got to the top of the tower and then Cinder shot her. She saw me looking at her and I watched the light fade from her eyes." Ruby had to take a deep breath. "And then Cinder disintegrated her body. There isn't a body Jaune there is nothing to prove she existed! There is nothing to mourn! I – I – I –"

Jaune wrapped his arms around the tearful Ruby as he felt the twisting horrible grief return in full force. The feeling that he was drowning and lost returned all over again. Pyrrha would know how to comfort a hurting friend he thought bitterly. Why did Pyrrha have to die? It should have been him. The words chased each other round his mind as he and Ruby sank to the ground.

"It wasn't your fault Ruby, it was mine far more than yours. You saved the city, You saved so many lives. That we are all here today is because of you! I just let her go to her death. I didn't even tell her goodbye properly. I couldn't stop her. I wasn't strong enough. I should have been beside her fighting."

"You told me to save her."

"I was being selfish." Jaune sobbed. "She made her decision, she knew she was going to die, she knew what she was doing, it was on her own terms even. It was a death she would have been proud of."

"But –"

"It's not your fault." Jaune murmured. "You said that Cinder disintegrated her? It means that Cinder is definitely from Mistral too. It's one of their death rites, bodies are returned to dust. Pyrrha told me, now I know why. The second thing that has to be done is that her jewellery must be returned to her family. All we have is her circlet. We have to return it to them."

"That's where you are going aren't you." Ruby asked. "Dad will never let me, not with the state of the kingdoms, not after Mom died, and with Yang hurt."

"We want you to come with us Ruby." Ren knelt down beside the pair. "We are going for answers as well, who is Cinder, why did she do it? Is there more like her? People who want to take over the world?"

"I'll have to run away." Ruby looked at them both. I'll have to sneak out, I'll be leaving Yang and Dad and Qrow and coming with you guys."

"Well well well, looks like we have some conspirators." Qrow walked into the living room. "You have my permission just so you all know. But asking Tai would be a terrible idea, he's not going to willingly let you out of his sight Ruby. And it's going to destroy Yang a little more. Though I can talk to Yang for you."

"Thank's Uncle Qrow." Ruby stood up.

"Also I gave you guys some more food." Qrow said. "There should be an airship leaving tomorrow morning for Mistral. The docs are about a half mile from here, Ruby knows the way."


End file.
